Dartmoor day trip: 2~The moor

We crossed the cattle grid into Dartmoor country. I nabbed the first parking spot I saw and jogged back in the chilly misty rain to get a couple of shots.

We were curious about the ‘covert capture cars’ sign – these are parked cars with onboard video and audio equipment aimed at catching baddies in the act

An old milestone marker, a bit the worse for wear but indicating distances to Tavistock and Mortonhampstead

An old post office cable marker

Along we continued, stopping randomly here and there.

Aren’t they nicely colour coordinated with their environment

In a blink-and-you-miss-it place called Postbridge is one of the most visited features in Dartmoor. Clapper bridge is the term, odd though it is, given to an ancient form of bridge built using large slabs of rock on stone piles. Postbridge has a great example just off the main road, dating sometime around the 1300s.

The clapper bridge

The road bridge, only around 220 years old

Postbridge was a picturesque wee spot so there was a bit more dawdling before returning to the waiting father.

The lower speed limit through the moor gave me an opportunity to survey the passing landscape as I drove. This vigilance paid off as with a yelp I pulled off to a sort of parking bay and announced to mum and dad: “a stone circle!”. This was the first example I’d seen in person, and it was nice that it popped up unexpectedly rather than as a planned feature. Mum and I scurried over.

I later read that it is called the Soussons stone circle and dates to the Bronze Age – which in Britain is regarded as being from 2100 to 750 BC. Give or take.

22 stones in a circle almost 9m across

In the forest behind the circle

We finished the drive through the moor. The weather stayed blah but that just added to the atmosphere – and probably met my preconception of how a moor should ‘feel’.

Hi…

I'm Hayley and I live in the beautiful city of Wellington NZ. Outside of my work as an IT programme manager I love to travel and exercise my creativity. This blog is a photo journal of my travel experiences, the big stuff and the small. Thanks for visiting!